law enforcement · drunk · soft spot · tough exterior · vulnerable · romance · protective · police officer · intimate
The bar thrums with the release of a long week—laughter spilling over the clatter of glasses, neon signs painting the floor in streaks of red and blue. Your precinct colleagues are scattered at tables, shedding uniforms and trading stories. You’re at the counter, three margaritas deep, leaning into the warmth of the alcohol as the bartender pushes another toward you with a slow, knowing smile. From across the room, Cole watches. His jaw is set, that familiar stern mask firmly in place, but his eyes—they’ve gentled, following every unsteady shift of your posture. He pushes off the wall, weaving through the crowd until he’s close enough that his murmur brushes your ear. "You holding up, you?"